The first trains destined for the Meadowlands Sports Complex will begin operating July 26, NJ Transit officials said today.

The agency will launch the long-awaited service -- which will originate in Hoboken and stop at Secaucus Junction -- for a 3 p.m. championship soccer match at Giants Stadium, hoping to take as many as 11,000 fans off the road and out of traffic.

Jerry McCrea/The Star-LedgerA NJ Transit train bound for New York City leaves the the Walnut St. station in Montclair.

The $185 million service will bring riders to a station that's 100 feet outside the new football stadium, giving fans a "short walk" to the existing home for the Giants and Jets, NJ Transit Executive Director Rich Sarles said. The new stadium for the two NFL teams is scheduled to open in 2010.

"It will be quite a nice service in terms of getting to the Meadowlands and not getting involved in traffic," Sarles said.

The service will begin about three hours before game time and operate through stadium events. Departures will end about two hours after each game, Sarles said.

The service will not operate for events at the IZOD Center, but Sarles said NJ Transit's shuttle bus service from Secaucus to the arena will be available.

The service represents the only significant rail expansion supported by NJ Transit's $1.79 billion budget for 2010, which the board of directors approved today.

Sarles said he's unsure how many of the agency's employees will be required to take unpaid furloughs. He would only say the move will likely not affect essential services.

"We don't want it to affect front-line operations," he said.

Agency officials say the steps will help offset a $62 million reduction in state assistance that could have led to "major" service cuts.

Rail advocates, however, said NJ Transit has made cuts that have affected many people, curbing service on the Morris and Essex line.

They questioned routing trains to the Meadowlands that will serve at least 16 football games a year and some special events when other scaled-back lines assist more people.

"I don't see how management can expect people to get out of their automobiles and use transit when management can't even provide them with good connections to get them to where they're going," said David Peter Alan of the Lackawanna Coalition.